"We would like it if the media didn't have access to the information in the first place," said Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association. "[Then-Gov. Bob] Taft insisted the media have access to the records. This battle goes back years.

"They've published the names of people who are hiding from people trying to kill them, the names of prison guards who are trying to protect themselves from ex-convicts hunting them down, the names of women who have restraining orders out against people trying to kill them," he said. "How does that do any good?"

November 20, 2007
The Hannah Report - Ohio Group to Join Washington, D.C. Case in U.S. Supreme Court

The Buckeye Firearms Association announced that they will be participating in the Washington, D.C. Gun Ban case which the U.S. Supreme Court decided to accept.

The Court limited the case to the following issue:

"Whether the following provisions, D.C. Code 7-2502.02(a), 22-4505(a), and 7-2507.02, violate the Second Amendment rights of individuals who are not affiliated with any state-regulated militia, but who wish to keep handguns and other firearms for private use in their homes?"

The justices will review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit which ruled in March that Washington can't ban all handgun possession in the home. While the appeals court decision pertained to Washington, D.C., the final opinion may have nationwide impact.

The Ohio association will be filing a brief in support of Mr. Heller, one of the D.C. residents who originally filed the case. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence chose not to join the city in asking the Court to hear the case. Also, the National Rifle Association didn't take a position on whether the Court should get involved.

Buckeye Firearms Association is pointing out on its Web site ( www.buckeyefirearms.org) that the Ohio Revised Code already restricts minors in the matter of gun possession and ownership, particularly handgun possession and ownership.

The basement of the ROTC building is the only location on The Ohio State University campus where a student can legally fire a gun. But one group wants to change that and give licensed students the right to carry firearms anywhere on school grounds.

...Mark Noble, who is associated with the Buckeye Firearms Association, said achieving that goal would start with changing state law, 10TV's Kevin Landers reported.

"In Ohio we would have to get the state law changed," Noble said. "Ohio is one of the few states that outright prohibits concealed carry on campus."

Despite that challenge, Noble said the right to carry a weapon should not stop at the campus border.

"Why should we prohibit people from exercising their rights, except for this imaginary line?" he said.

October 31, 2007
NRANews.com

Buckeye's Firearms Association's Ken Hanson was a guest on NRANews.com, which is broadcast live on the Internet and on satellite radio via Sirius Patriot 141. Ken discussed his article "HB354: More Gun Control Addressing Non-Existent Problems" with Cam & Company host Cam Edwards.

Mark Noble, a National Rifle Association instructor [and Buckeye Firearms Association Central Ohio volunteer], said he hated leaving his gun in his car when he took classes at Ohio State.

"Thieves know that if you are a student, then you are not allowed to carry a weapon and so they'll target you," said Noble, 31, who graduated in June...

"But if they changed the law, then thieves wouldn't know who is armed and they would move on to other targets."

October 18, 2007
NRANews.com

Buckeye's Firearms Association's Tim Inwood was a guest on NRANews.com, which is broadcast live on the Internet and on satellite radio via Sirius Patriot 141. Tim discussed his article "Yet another anti-gun liberal grapples with reality..." with Cam & Company host Cam Edwards.

In Ohio it is already against the law to own a handgun if you are under 21, but a new piece of legislation would add the word possession to the books. Opponents argue that changing the vocabulary will ultimately change nothing about the law.

Critics of the proposal argue that probable cause already allows police to stop people suspected of illegally carrying a gun.

"The conduct they are talking about is already illegal under existing laws," said Ken Hanson with the Buckeye Firearms Association.

What concerns gun supporters like Hanson the most is that the legislation could leave some responsible gun owners defenseless, Landers reported.

Last year an 18-year-old clerk at a Columbus carryout shot and killed one of two people who tried to rob his family's store. Opponents claim that under the proposed bill, the clerk would have broken the law..

October 12, 2007
WKRC 550AM Cincinnati

Buckeye Firearms Association Region Leader Collin Rink was a guest on the "55KRC Morning Show" with hosts Brian Thomas and John Phillips. They discussed the SuccessTech Academy school shooting in Cleveland.

Ken Hanson, legislative chair for the Buckeye Firearms Association in Ohio, said the problem is not that guns are available, they're just not in the right hands. He posted this on the group's Website Wednesday:

"We know that teachers and school officials who have the knowledge, skills, and tools to stop the killing of our innocent children are by law not permitted to bring the only tool (a gun) which can stop an active shooter onto school premises. Too many lives have been lost. For the sake of our children, it's time to revise this well-intentioned, but disastrous policy."

He said that, except for underage students, everyone from cafeteria workers to school janitors should be able to pack "with proper training."

Cleveland Law Director Robert Triozzi said the city will defend its local laws on assault weapons, possession of weapons in public places and possession of weapons by minors.

Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said a favorable Supreme Court ruling in the Clyde case would stamp out Cleveland's challenge.

"It should establish that statewide preemption is legal," Irvine said.

September 26, 2007
WKHW/ WHKZ's "Call the Cops" radio program

Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine was a guest on "Call the Cops" with host John Ligato. They discussed Cleveland's crime problems and the laws relating to firearms, and the attention Hi-Point firearms has received including a recent Plain Dealer article. The show starts after the news in the 9:00 hour and runs till 10:00 and is broadcast on WHKW AM 1220 in Cleveland and simulcast on WHKZ AM 1440 in Warren, Ohio.

Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine was interviewed by FOX News for a story the national cable news network aired concerning Mayor Frank Jackson's proposal for a new state gun control law. The segment aired several times on Tuesday, September 25th in various forms. The comprehensive version aired during the 6:00p.m. evening news hour with Brit Hume.

"Mr. Westerhold openly concedes that Ohio law says concealed-carry lists are not public records," Ken Hanson, an attorney and Buckeye Firearms Association legislative chair, wrote on BFA's Web site. "The people, by and through their elected officials, have determined, as a matter of law, that these lists are not public records and the release of these lists is not in the public interest. Mr. Westerhold does not agree with that decision, and he works at a newspaper, so his opinion is the only one that matters. Contrary to the legislative and deliberative process and result, Mr. Westerhold gets to unilaterally make public that which is conclusively not public with the click of a mouse. BFA has called for a reader boycott of Sandusky Register advertisers, to protest the newspaper's actions.

Buckeye's Firearms Association's Rick Kaleda made a live guest appearance on the Morning Show show discussing gun safety issues, including where to keep your gun, how to handle it, whether to lock it up, whether the rules change if you have kids, what to tell your kids about guns, when to teach your kids (if at all) to use the gun, and how to carry your gun if you have a license to "conceal and carry."

The Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association has declared opposition to the bill. Portage County Prosecutor Victor Viguicci isn't sure, but at first glance the proposal seems too broad, he said.

"Something like this comes up every year," Viguicci said. "But usually they don't seek this broad of coverage. I'd have to research it more, but it seems like too much."

Members of the Buckeye Firearms Association disagree with his preliminary assessment. The group has worked closely with legislators to push for the so-called right-to-shoot bill, although the organization's chairman, Jim Irvine, said the law has little to do with firearms.

"This isn't about guns, it's about self-defense," Irvine said. "If someone attacks you and brutally tries to kill you or rape your wife, do you not have the right to defend your family? If you do defend your life, should you be treated differently than someone else who suffers some other crime?

"In school, we all learned that you are innocent until proven guilty. This bill makes that a reality."

...Regardless of whether the bill clears committee, it seems gun advocates and anti-violence groups will never see eye-to-eye on the issue.

"People like Toby Hoover think you shouldn't defend yourself - that if you're attacked, you should just die," Irvine said. "Plain and simple, they are against self-defense."

RUSH: Remember last week we reported to you these OSHA restrictions? They're trying to basically ban ammunition from gun shops, you wouldn't be able to sell it, and I accidentally swerved into it when I was perusing websites. Well, OSHA announced it "will significantly revise a recent proposal for new 'explosives safety' regulations that caused serious concern among gun owners....

Outraged by the publication of names of citizens licensed to carry concealed firearms in several northern Ohio communities, the Buckeye Firearms Association (BFA) has taken the gloves off against the newspaper editor who published the list by revealing key facts on their website.

Matt Westerhold, managing editor of The Sandusky Register, put himself in the crosshairs of the BFA and Ohioans for Concealed Carry (OFCC) when he published the names of concealed handgun license (CHL) holders. Rage turned to righteous indignation seasoned with a little revenge when BFA pubilshed information about Westerhold's alleged encounter with the Ohio State Highway Patrol last Sept. 1. He was stopped for speeding and cited for failure to wear his seatbelt, the BFA reported.

But the group went further, publishing what apparently is his home address in Amherst along with a photograph of the dwelling. An SUV parked at the home in the photo, which was obtained from public records, apparently belongs to Westerhold.

Westerhold did not respond to Gun Week's request for an interview.

...BFA's website recalled that this was not the first time Westerhold was apparently involved in publishing the names of CHL-holders. In an earlier job at The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, Westerhold allegedly also ordered publication of names of law-abiding armed citizens there as well.

In a joint article written by BFA activists Chad Baus and John Salyers, they asserted that state lawmakers, county sheriffs and even the governor all tried to talk Westerhold out of publishing the names, more than 2,600 in all. They promised to provide more information on the newspaper's managing editor, and BFA website readers did not have long to wait.

Westerhold has written in the newspaper that that the issue is about the public right to know. Gun activists don't believe that, and they have launched an effort to have him removed.

...This battle has even gotten the attention of syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin, who criticized the decision to publish the names.

Do you carry a concealed weapon? Why not? I would much rather be in a restaurant or other venue with about a dozen people who have passed the background checks and are packing, then in a place full of people with the "submit and do what the man with the gun says" attitude. Read this, if, that is, you have a strong stomach.

RUSH: A friend of mine sent me a note about a story going on in Sandusky, Ohio. It's a big issue there. A newspaper published all 2700 people in the community with a concealed carry permit. This, of course, made the fur fly, and the gun people there, the pro-gun people there got information on the newspaper editor, where he lives, everything about him, and they published that in their publications, in Sandusky, Ohio - and that's the way to fight this stuff!

You know, journalists give out people's privacy and so forth - and these are not public people. These are just 2700 people with concealed carry permits. These are not public people. Some of them might be, I don't know, but most of them are just average citizens. So here comes every bit of information on them, their names and so forth and so on, and you go tell the journalist, "How would you feel if everything about you was exposed?"

"Well, I'm just a journalist! I just convey the news. I'm an innocent bystander."

"No, you're not."

They can't handle it. When they come under the same scrutiny that they scrutinize everybody else with, that does cause the fur to fly.

"Now, someone who has a grudge has a list of targets/victims, and the only reason they have a list of targets/victims is because of the newspaper's unilateral action," the Buckeye Firearms Association said on its website.

BFA Legislative Chair Ken Hanson wrote that because of the newspaper's actions, "The general public may now know who owns and may or may not carry a gun. Additionally, the general public now knows who is not carrying a gun in their day to day activities."

In retaliation - and to illustrate the ease of finding personal information when given a name - the BFA began printing personal information about Sandusky Register Managing Editor Matt Westerhold. The information, while personal, is available through public records searches.

On its website, the group has printed Westerhold's phone numbers, automobile records, traffic ticket record, the address of a home he owns and information about the mortgage on the property. It has also printed redacted information on his birth date and Social Security number.

Cybercast News Service has independently verified most of the information through online public records searches, including his birth date, partial Social Security number, property holdings, and mortgage information.

The group defends its actions by saying that Westerhold, by approving the publication of the names and information about gun owners, is putting them at risk for the same kind of "this type of stalking/abuse."

I've reported before on the newspaper campaign against gun owners with concealed carry licenses. The war continues. The Buckeye Firearms Association sends word of another news outlet, the Sandusky Register, which has published a list of concealed handgun permit owners in Erie, Huron, Ottawa, Sandusky and Seneca counties in Ohio.

BFA reports a citizen revolt and backlash against the paper's actions.

[Toby Hoover of Perrysburg, executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence], said she knows of no one who has been successfully prosecuted when they truly acted in self-defense.

But Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said those who act in self-defense sometimes plead to a lesser charge and shouldn't have to face the time, expense, and effort to defend themselves.

"It's common sense," he said. "Are you going to side with the rapist criminal or the victim? Right now the law is upside down."

Supporters of the bill provide anecdotes illustrating the need for the change, but mainly argue that it doesn't make sense to place the burden of proof on people trying to defend themselves.

In a case "where a guy purely, clearly has the right to use self defense, we've had judges say, 'No, the guy with a broken leg should have jumped out the second-story window,'" said Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association.

[Toby] Hoover, whose husband was killed by a gun almost 35 years ago, advocates for background checks for those secondary sales to ensure criminals have a harder time getting their hands on guns.

"Somehow or another, we have to stop that supply to those people," she says.

Her opposition in Ohio is led by Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association, an organization that named Hoover the number four threat to gun rights in 2007. Irvine's group won a victory in March when legislation it championed changed gun laws in the state. The new law made firearms regulations uniform across Ohio, but stripped local municipalities of their ability to tighten rules.

There are no licensing requirements for gun ownership in Ohio, and that's the way it should be, Irvine says.

"It's a constitutional right," he says. "You don't need to get training or a license to say "President Bush is an idiot' or "President Clinton is an idiot.' If you're criticizing an elected official, you don't need to go get a permit.

"Second of all, it's a piece of property. It doesn't make any more sense to say you need a license to go get a knife, or duct tape or anything else criminals use to commit crimes."

...As for requiring gun licenses, "I think that you should have to do that, and you should have to qualify for some kind of safety training," Hoover says.

But Irvine doesn't like laws that require training or licenses. "I'm a huge advocate of training," he says. "I don't think you can have enough training." Still, he favors rolling back the Ohio requirement of 12 hours of training before earning a concealed carry permit. He says people who can't afford the training are in danger because they can't get a permit.

"Concealed-carry is the best dollar-for-dollar return for society because it is paid for entirely by people who go to get a concealed-carry license," he says.

"I know close to a dozen people who have defended their lives with a firearm," he continues.

Cases involving licensed carriers of concealed weapons protecting themselves or others are difficult to find because they rarely are reported, pro-gun groups say.

Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said most examples are anecdotal accounts, undocumented by police investigations.

"Ninety-five percent of the time no shots are fired," Irvine said. "So there would be no police reports. The gun owner either draws the weapon or pulls his jacket back to show the gun and all of a sudden the criminal's gone."

The Buckeye Web site has a number of testimonials about gun owners defending themselves and others from attackers. But most of the cases involve store owners battling robbers. Those cases don't pertain to concealed weapons because a store owner is not required to have a concealed-weapon permit to keep a gun in a store.

Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said it appeared Mr. Dann had taken appropriate steps to address the issue.

"It's very difficult to weed out the few people who are a problem and not catch very good people who are not a problem," he said. "We're not good at the mental illness game. There are so many fuzzy borders, so many diseases, but treated, people live normal lives."

"It's tragic," said Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association. "Anytime somebody dies, it's tragic, but it's hard to have any sympathy when he chose to have a gun and go threaten somebody's life."

Irvine said it was "great that a potential victim is able to continue his life instead of having a criminal take it."

At most, the local laws that were invalidated may have slowed him down a bit to reload more frequently by denying him heavy-ammunition magazines.

"It really doesn't make a difference," said Jim Irvine, spokesman for the Buckeye Firearms Association.

"There are 45,000 to 50,000 people in car crashes every year. You can reduce the size of the gas tank to 10 gallons, but you wouldn't see fewer crashes. You'd just stop to fill up more often. Changing the magazine capacity has nothing to do with saving lives."

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